


It’s For You

by thenakednymph



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feelings, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Lance is fine just a little beat up, Language, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Character Death, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), flangst, keith is mad, lance is a smartass, let Keith be soft, let him be scared, let him cry, we don’t believe in that around here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 10:44:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19171672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenakednymph/pseuds/thenakednymph
Summary: Lance thinks he’s going to die and records a message for Keith.





	It’s For You

**Author's Note:**

> Oh look. More pain. More fluff.

Pidge comes up to Keith, cradling Lance’s ruined helmet in their hands. 

“Keith?” they say softly, making him stop in his tracks. “There’s something I think you need to see.” Pidge bites their lip and clutches the helmet a little tighter, passing over a tablet. 

“When we found Lance there was a message. He’d recorded it before the blast.” They hand over the tablet, cheeks flushing. They won’t quite meet Keith’s eyes. 

“I transferred it over to this to find out what he’d said but-” They bite their lip and look guilty, glasses sliding down their nose. “You-” They fiddle with the helmet, holding it between them and Keith like a shield. “It’s for you.”

~

_ The video starts out skewed, tilted to one side as Lance fiddles with it, not quite in focus. He sits back on a pile of rubble, the blue lights of his armor the only illumination in the dark tunnel. Lance’s chest is the only thing in frame as he begins speaking. _

“ _ So. Turns out I’m gonna die.”  _ Keith’s eyebrows lift at the bluntness of it.  _ Lance fiddles with the helmet in his hands, finally setting it on a chunk of stone in front of him until his entire upper body is in frame, the lens slowly focusing. He sits back on a pile of rubble, the blue light turning him ghostly. He tries to smile but it crumbles until he’s left staring at his hands.  _ The solemnity of it makes Keith flush with fear and his grip on the tablet tightens. 

_ “The way I understand it,” Lance says slowly, “there’s something like a nuclear missile headed this way?”  _ There’s that smile again, like he’s trying to be brave and Keith’s heart sinks.

_ “And I’m stuck down here in this, weird subway tunnel.” He gestures vaguely to the dark space around him, the stone tunnel barely illuminated by the lights of his armor.  _

_ “Good news is if the blast doesn’t kill me I’ll still suffocate.”  _ Keith can hear the way his breath hitches and something like realization flashes through his eyes as he looks around. Keith watches Lance realize he’s going to die and it feels like all the air is being sucked out of the hall. 

_ Lance takes a deep, shuddering breath that leaves him in a rush he can’t quite control.  _

_ “Oh shit...I’m gonna die,” he whispers eyes wide and unseeing. He runs a shaking hand back through his hair again and again, swallowing thickly.  _

_ “God I shouldn’t be doing this.” He bites his lip so hard the skin turns white. “But I can’t- I can’t just not tell you.” Lance’s voice thickens as fear constricts his throat and he looks back at the camera, gaze skittering away a moment later.  _

_ “And I know that’s really selfish of me and I’m doing it more for me than you but I can’t die and not tell you.” He scrubs a hand over his face trying to still the trembling in his fingers. It takes him a moment to gather his thoughts enough to look up at the camera.  _

_ “I’m in love with you.” Lance stares at the camera without blinking and Keith has to watch him swallow. “I wish you were here,” he chokes. “I wish I’d had the courage to tell you in person.” His voice cracks and Lance covers his face with a hand, struggling to keep it together. _

_ “I wish I’d told you sooner.”  _ He sounds breathless and Keith can hear the tears in his voice. _ “Or found a way to fix whatever fucked up relationship we  _ do _ have.” Lance runs a hand back through his hair, blinking up at the ceiling, trying not to cry.  _

_ “I don’t even know how long I’ve loved you.” His voice shakes and the tears finally slip free. He looks back down into the lens, right at Keith, making his heart lurch. He has to watch as Lance loses what little self control he has left.  _

_ “I always thought we’d end up together you know?” He tries to smile but it’s weak and terrified and he screws his eyes shut with regret.  _

_ “Somehow, in spite of everything.” Lance sniffs and wipes his nose, his knee bouncing rhythmically. “I always thought we’d make it there someday.” His voice wavers, soft and affectionate and thick with regret.  _

_ “And I know my timing sucks.” He catches his lip in his teeth, swallowing a sob. “But I needed you to know.” He looks into the lens again and Keith can’t breathe. “You’re it for me man. You always were.” He swallows thickly, eyes unblinking as they lock with Keith’s.  _

_ “No one else makes me feel the way you do.” Tears drip from Lance’s chin. “So whatever other shit I said, whatever mean nonsense has come spilling out of my stupid, stupid mouth.” He grits his teeth, his whole body shaking and Keith can’t see it but he knows under the gloves Lance’s knuckles are white. _

_ “I need you to know I didn’t mean it. Any of it.” He shakes his head slowly. “God I never meant any of it,” he whispers. _

_ Lance puts his face in his hands and shudders. _

_ “Stars, I love you Keith. I love you so much it hurts.”  _ Lance’s body bends double over a sob as the ground trembles. A low roar fills the hall from the tablet and the helmet is knocked sideways with a burst of sound. Keith thinks he hears his name again before the footage fizzles out in a burst of static and white noise. 

~

As the video comes to a close Keith drops the tablet and runs, Pidge not even bothering to shout after him for nearly breaking it as it hits the floor. He slides into the medbay in time to see Lance stumble into Coran, the healing pod gaping open behind him.

“You idiot!” Keith storms across the room, tears still in his eyes. “You absolute fucking moron!” He shoves Lance out of Coran’s arms, sending him stumbling back into the pod, cracking his head sharply. Before he can recover Keith is dragging him back up into his arms. 

“I hate-” He grabs Lance and kisses him, still furious. 

“I hate you!” He throws his arms around Lance, burying his face in his neck and cries, still cold with fear. “I hate you.” The breath shudders out of him and his knees go weak as Lance slowly relaxes, arms coming up around him.

“Keith?” Lance touches his shoulder and Keith flinches, holding him tighter. 

“I can’t believe you recorded something like that.” His voice comes out choked with tears and Lance goes rigid again, still holding him awkwardly. 

“You weren’t supposed to see that.”

“Then why did you record it?” Keith demands, shoving Lance away from him. He doesn’t notice that Coran has left the room along with whoever else may have been there when he’d come storming in. 

“I thought I was going to die!” Lance defends.

Keith makes a grabbing motion for Lance, flexing his fingers like claws and bares his teeth. 

“Ugh! I don’t know whether to hit you or kiss you again!” 

Lance rubs the back of his head where it throbs and winces. “Yeah. You’re kind of giving me mixed signals here.”

Keith stares at him like he’s afraid if he blinks Lance will disappear. “I thought you were dead. And then you weren’t and we put you in a pod and I was okay. I was gonna be okay.” He tugs at his hair. “And then Pidge showed me that video and I…”

Lance looks up and finally notices the tear tracks on Keith’s cheeks. “When we found you. I thought you were dead. And then Pidge showed me the message and…” His heart threatens to race out of his chest, somehow the adrenaline leaving him cold. He’s talking in circles and repeating himself but Keith can’t figure out what is is he’s trying to say.

“Lance I’ve never been so scared.” His eyes are wide as they meet Lance’s. “Not since-” He swallows thickly. “Not since my father died.” The admission comes out small and weak and oh, that does things to Lance. Nasty things like guilt and self-loathing and he curls back into the pod, cradling his arms around himself, wishing he’d had the decency to just keep his feelings to himself for  _ once. _

“I shouldn’t have recorded that,” he says softly, “I’m sorry.”

Keith just stares at him, beyond confused. “Why?”

Lance looks up at him through his eyelashes. “Because I didn’t want to hurt you. And I did anyway. And I’m so-” Lance rubs the heel of his hand into his eye. “God I’m so sorry. I didn’t  _ think _ .” He grinds his teeth wishing the helmet had stayed buried. “You weren’t supposed to see that.” 

Keith gently pulls his hand away a moment later, Lance’s eyes flicking up to meet his. “I love you too. I just thought you hated me.” 

Lance looks at Keith’s fingers around his wrist, darting a glance back up to his eyes. “So you’re not gonna hit me?” 

Keith scowls. “For scaring the hell out of me  _ and _ breaking my heart all in the same day? Twice? Yeah, no promises.” 

A careful smile begins to pull up the corner of Lance’s mouth. “Does that mean you’re also gonna kiss me again? Cause I kinda wasn't ready the first time.”

Keith reddens but he still looks angry. “Not that you deserve it.” 

Lance’s smile turns into a full blown grin. “I deserve it a little don’t you think?” He steps into Keith’s space, a mischievous glint in his eyes. 

“A good smacking?” Keith argues, cheeks impossibly red. “Absolute-”

Lance steals the rest of the word with a kiss, one Keith stubbornly refuses to melt into. But then Lance’s hand is on his waist, warm and heavy and Keith was so scared. The little furrow between his eyebrows turns from angry to a worried kind of relieved and he cups Lance’s face in his hands. He’s none too gentle about it but Lance doesn’t seem to mind if the little kisses he keeps pressing to Keith’s mouth are anything to go by. 

“I'm still mad at you,” Keith whispers. 

“I know.” Lance brushes a thumb over Keith's jaw. “You’re always mad when you’re scared.” He kisses Keith again before he can make anything more than an affronted noise. 

“Wouldn’t have you any other way,” Lance says, bumping their noses together. “Means you care.” 

Pidge stumbles to a stop in the doorway, throwing an arm over their eyes and making a disgusted noise.

“Oh gross! Get a room.” 


End file.
